Nursery industry participants across the supply chain are invited to three important days of industry news, information, innovation and networking at the 2018 Nursery Garden Industry National Conference & Exhibition, to be held in Hobart 19-21 February 2018.

The conference will provide the industry with an opportunity to see grower levy dollars at work. Hort Innovation will be on hand as the principle R&D partner, to present key findings from current projects and explain how these are beneficial to the productivity and profitability of Australian production nurseries.

Below is a break-down of levy-funded projects and initiatives taking place at the conference.

11 am Tuesday 20 February – 202020 Vision and Plant Life Balance

Presenter Ben Peacock, from Republic of Everyone, will provide an update on the levy-funded marketing project 202020 Vision, which aims to create 20 per cent more green space in our urban areas by 2020.

The newly launched consumer marketing campaign, Plant Life Balance, will also be covered in the presentation. It is centered around the increase of the sale of pot-friendly plant species by highlighting the personal wellbeing and air quality benefits that plants bring to indoor and outdoor spaces.

11:00am Tuesday 20 February – Hort Masterclass Workshop

Described as a mini-MBA, the Hort Masterclass is the first of its kind in Australia for the horticulture industry, addressing the urgent need to empower the next generation of industry leaders. The 10-month program is delivered the University of Tasmania (UTAS).

At the conference, delegates can get a taste of the course content by attending a workshop presented by Dr Alistair Gracie & Dr David Monckton from UTAS.

8:30am Wednesday 21 February – Results of the Tree Standard Research

Between April 2016 and January 2017, researchers from the Hawkesbury Institute for the Environment at Western Sydney University assessed more than 13,000 trees to see how closely the current standard matches trees of different species and climates in nurseries across Australia.

The research was undertaken as part of the levy-funded project Evaluation of nursery tree stock balance parameters (NY15001).

Professor Mark Tjoelker, WSU will present on the latest findings and extension activities planned for the project.

8:30am Wednesday 21 February – Nursery Industry Biosecurity Program

The National Nursery Industry Biosecurity Program (NY15004) aims to ensure production nurseries in Australia are aware of and prepared for incursions of exotic plant pests, and that they have effective market access mechanisms in place to maintain business functionality.

John McDonald, National Biosecurity Manager for Nursery & Garden Industry Australia (NGIA) will present on the Nursery Production Farm Management System program including the ground-breaking work being achieved through the BioSecure HACCP program.

8:30am Wednesday 21 February – Diagnosing Plant Diseases

Dr Andrew Manners, from Department of Agriculture and Fisheries (DAF) will present the latest biosecurity initiatives and developments under the project Building the resilience and on-farm biosecurity capacity of the Australian production nursery industry (NY15002).

The project aims to enhance the biosecurity preparedness of the Australian nursery industry, and has a variety of material available to help production nurseries manage pest and disease risks.

Jan Paul Van Moort, ACIL Allen Consulting, will discuss the recently released data tool, designed to provide levy payers with the ability to benchmark themselves against the broader industry to help boost business productivity.

The tool was developed through the levy-funded project Nursery Industry Statistics & Research (NY16004), and seeks to give a first-of-its-kind look into the industry’s social, economic and environmental contribution to Australian society.

Delegates will also have a chance to hear more generally about Hort Innovation Strategic Levy and Frontier Initiatives at a session being held 1:30pm Tuesday 20 February.

For one-on-one discussions, Hort Innovation staff will be available at a booth in the trade exhibition area for the duration of the conference.

The conference is facilitated through the project Nursery industry conference partnership (NY17001), funded by Hort Innovation using the nursery research and development levy, and contributions from the Australian Government, with in-kind support from Nursery & Garden Industry Australia.

For more information on the conference and to register please visit the NGIA website.